Coffee is one of the most consumed and grown beverages across the world. Coffee is essentially a brewed drink which is obtained from roasted coffee beans. The varying degrees to which coffee beans are roasted attribute to the various tastes and flavors of coffee that are available. The fact that coffee is available in many flavors makes it very popular as it meets the tastes of a wide range of people. Coffee is rich in caffeine which is one of the main components of coffee and perhaps this is one of the main reasons why most people think that drinking coffee is harmful. However, this is not true. Coffee is considered to have several health benefits because of the several anti- oxidants that it contains. Over the past few years, organic coffee is becoming more popular than conventional coffee.

Organic coffee

Most people link the word organic with fruits and vegetables. What most people don't know is that they can drink organic coffee instead of conventional coffee. A lot of people may be surprised to know the fact that initially when coffee cultivation began, all coffee that was grown was organic and shade grown. However, as the demand of coffee increased, the coffee cultivators started growing sun friendly variants of coffee which could be grown in open fields with direct sunlight. Pesticides and fertilizers were used to grow this type of coffee. This practice is still used to grow conventional coffee; one of the major factors contributing to the increased content of pesticides in conventional coffee which makes it unfit to drink. This method of growing coffee is also harming the environment because many trees and forests are cut to make place for open fields on which coffee beans are planted and cultivated.

How is organic coffee grown?

Organic coffee beans are planted under shade of trees. The cultivators use only natural ingredients to fertilize the soil and no pesticides or synthetic substances are used. In addition, the cultivators also follow crop rotation to ensure that the soil is replenished with natural ingredients and one does not need to put fertilizers. Once the coffee beans have ripened, they are processed using either dry milling or wet milling. In this process, the coffee beans are separated from the dried coffee berries. The beans are then roasted using organic coffee roasters. When roasting organic coffee beans, it is ensured that no chemical salts, flavors or additives are added to the coffee.

Benefits of organic coffee

Drinking organic coffee can be more beneficial than most people would believe. Of the several benefits that organic coffee has, one is related to the environment. The fact that organic coffee is grown in shades of trees, trees do not need to be cut and so the environment is protected. Organic coffee has several health benefits because of its natural flavors. The fact that organic coffee is grown without the use of pesticides, it becomes one of the most healthy drinks. Organic coffee helps to flush out toxins from the body.

The antioxidants found in organic coffee beans reduce the risk of cancer and diabetes.

The caffeine found in organic coffee helps to preserve long and short term memory as it aids to increasing the size of the hippocampus. It also helps in pain relief as caffeine is considered to be a natural pain reliever.

The various vitamins, minerals and antioxidants found in organic coffee help in the prevention of Alzheimer's disease as well as Parkinson's disease.

Organically shade grown coffee grows slowly and so is low in acid content. In addition, organic coffee gets all it flavors naturally and so is considered healthier.

Varieties of organic coffee

There are several varieties of organic coffee available based on the method of farming and the contribution to the environment. A few varieties of organic coffee are:

1. Organic Shade Grown Coffee
2. Organic Bird Friendly Coffee
3. Organic Kona Coffee
4. Organic Green Coffee
5. Organic Decaffeinated Coffee

Precautions

Organic coffee with its several benefits sure gives a great flavor yet it does not mean that one can consume it in excess mainly because of the caffeine content in it. The excess consumption of coffee has several harmful effects on the health like insomnia, nervousness, dizziness, heartburns etc.